EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana junior guard Jeril Taylor (Louisville, Kentucky) scored a game-high 32 points, 20 in the first half, to lead the Screaming Eagles to a 86-76 victory over William Jewell College Saturday afternoon in Liberty Missouri. USI, which has won its last eight contests, sees its record go to 12-2 overall and 4-0 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while William Jewell falls to 5-7, 0-4 GLVC.
 
Taylor got the show going in the opening half for the Eagles, scoring USI's first 10 points of the game. He would lead USI to a 38-30 halftime advantage by dropping in 20 points on eight-of-11 from the field, three-of-five from long range, and one-of-one from the line.
 
USI led by as many as 12 points in the opening half, 29-17, with 4:49 left before halftime on a three-point bomb by junior guard Bobo Drummond (Peoria, Illinois). Drummond finished the first half with nine points.
 
In the second half, USI bumped the lead back to double-figures, 42-32, before William Jewell made a run at the Eagles. The Cardinals cut the Eagles margin to as few as four points, 45-41, with 14:31 to play in the contest.
 
USI methodically re-extended its margin to double digits over the next seven minutes, posting its largest lead of the game, 14 points, 63-49, with 7:04 remaining. William Jewell made a final run at USI in the final five minutes by cutting the lead to eight points twice, before the Eagles settled for the 10-point, 86-76 win.
 
The second half saw additional USI offense from senior forwards Shane Seniour (Newburgh, Indiana) and George Edwards (Chicago, Illinois). Seniour scored 11 second half points, while Edwards had eight points in the final stanza.
 
It was at the free throw line that USI won the game in the second half. The Eagles were a blistering 21-of-24 from the charity stripe with Taylor leading the way by converting seven-of-eight attempts for seven of his 12 second half points. Seniour followed Taylor with a perfect four-of-four from the line.
 
Individually, Taylor's 32 points led four USI players in double-digits. He was 10-of-19 from the field, four-of-10 from beyond the arc, and eight –of-nine from the charity stripe. The 32 points also was one short of tying his season-high of 33 against Kentucky State University in November.
 
Drummond followed Taylor in the scoring column with 13 points, while freshman guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana) and Seniour finished out the double-digit scorers with 11 points each.
 
USI returns home next week to host Quincy University Thursday and Truman State University Saturday in the friendly surroundings of the Physical Activities Center. Tip-off Thursday versus Quincy will be 7:30 p.m., while the start time against TSU is slated for 3:15 p.m. Full coverage on GoUSIEagles.com